One coven that I used to circle with when visiting their city was big on the old Magicians’ Pyramid: To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silent.
Sarah Lawless, the “Witch of Forest Grove,” thinks that there should be more silence, writing in a post called “Oversharing Witches“:
I was taught not to share. Specifically, I was taught not to share who my familiar spirits are, to not share the exact names of my deities, not to share what my unique abilities are, not to share recent spells I’ve performed, and to only talk about my tradition when asked (especially by elders) and never say more than the absolute least I possibly can. You’re probably laughing at me because I write a witchcraft blog that’s all about sharing knowledge, practices, and experiences… but hold that laughter. Have you ever seen me state exactly what all of my animal and plant familiars are? Have you ever seen me list the names of all the ancestors I work with? Have you ever seen me state exactly which traditions I trained in? You may have even noticed that I tend to use nicknames and epithets for the deities I work with rather than their actual names. I tend to skirt around a lot of things about myself. This blog is more of a giant Sarah iceberg and you’re only ever seeing the tip.
I see her point, although what I see in too many Craft blogs is just recycling of other people’s stuff instead of sharing secrets!
Among the Deities that I work with number Kali and Hiiaka and the Raven. Some trees will talk to me, and some magic is all about how to listen. Gardnerian. Faery. Reclaiming. DIY. A mountain bike can serve as a magical tool.
One thing that I’ve discovered over my days and nights of practice is that, in and of themselves, most secrets don’t help all that much in the doing of magic.
I remember being dumbfounded as a group of Druids spoke so casually about their magical names, the Deities they followed, their dreams and oracles and power animals. It was as if they used all this magical business to bolster their ego but didn’t actually believe it at all, since they were spilling everything that gave them power and also completely ignoring the bog standard rules about how people use information.
But still, with everything on show, it seems that people who take magic seriously are properly invisible partly because of all the noise in front of them.
Beliefs form your reality whether you believe that or not. If you believe that talking about your magical name, power animals etc. will cause you to lose power – you will. And although I am not a Christian, Yeshua Ben Yusef’s words of “let him who has ears to hear, hear” makes perfect sense. You can talk about the details of magic but unless your audience is ready to understand, it will be like talking to a wall. That is why the Buddhists, for example, have public teachings – because when those who want to understand are ready, they will, and not before then.
Blessings to all.
Thanks for the link, Chas. This inspired a blog post of my own.
There’s a fine line between keeping silent and becoming reclusive, and between sharing and oversharing. Staying on the right side of those lines requires experience and thoughtfulness… not to mention some social skills.